Another Victory for Union Labor

I stopped at Kroger today, and I took a photo of this testament to the fact that union labor outlived its utility at least a half century ago...

Make sure you keep the 18,000 or so newly unemployed beneficiaries of unions in your prayers.

Great Talk by the Pope's Diplomatic Representative to the U.S.

Here is a great article with commentary [in brackets] on a talk Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, gave at Notre Dame recently:

Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò has told the University of Notre Dame that there is a concrete “menace” to religious liberty in the U.S. that is advancing in part because some influential Catholic public figures and university professors are allied with those opposed to Church teaching.

“Evidence is emerging which demonstrates that the threat to religious freedom is not solely a concern for non-democratic and totalitarian regimes,” he said. “Unfortunately it is surfacing with greater regularity in what many consider the great democracies of the world.”

* * *

He lamented the fact that many Catholics are publicly supporting “a major political party” that has “intrinsic evils among its basic principles.” [That would be Catholics supporting the Democrat party.]

Read the whole thing at Fr. Z’s Blog (which is excellent, by the way). It is a serious problem that so many who identify themselves as Catholics could support a candidate and a party that is so opposed to the position of the Catholic Church on such important matters as the sanctity of life (the primary tenet of the Church's social justice teaching), real marriage (i.e., between one man and one woman), and religious liberty. It is really time for all Catholics to start standing up for and supporting (in speech, in action, in voting) what the Church really teaches!

A Couple Things

I went for a run today along the Great Miami River Trail. It was a great day for running, but unfortunately I got a cramp in my calf after about 4.75 miles, so I didn't go as far as I'd hoped to go. Hopefully it's just a cramp and not an injury that will keep me from running.

On my run, I went through a park where Obama and Biden had a rally a couple weeks ago. It's a nice park, but now it almost seems like it has been defiled. I prayed as I went through the park.

I want to apologize to the rest of this nation and the entire free world for all of the Ohio voters who are still under Obama's spell. I am truly embarrassed by the state of our electorate. I hope to start posting some information soon that can hopefully make some small dent in the ignorance of especially those Catholic voters who clearly have no idea what the Church teaches or why. Pray for our country!

Running Buddy

Last Saturday while Madeleine was at ballet, everyone else but Clare and me went to the Gem City Feis. It was a nice day, so I decided to take Clare running with me.

We did a 3.76 miles run in 35:33, a 9:27 minutes per mile pace. After that, we stopped at a park so Clare could play on the playground.

I think we both had fun!

Updated Finish Time

Here is my actual "chip" time, from when I crossed the starting line to when I crossed the finish line:

It was actually 12 seconds better than the time I tracked - I didn't stop my timer right as I crossed the finish line.

2:05:42

I did it! I finished in 2:05:42, about 25 minutes better than my previous best time. Now I shall rest!

Ready to go

I'm at the starting line. Race starts in about 30 minutes.

Less Than 2 Weeks!

If the race was a 5K, I'd be in great shape. This morning, I ran 3.1 miles in 27:42. Unfortunately, I will have to go 10 miles farther than that!

Actually, I am feeling pretty good about my readiness for the half marathon. I have been able to complete 7 and 8 mile runs at around a 9:30 minutes per mile pace. I did have a couple of setbacks recently: I had to stop and walk at the 8 mile point when I tried to do a 10 mile run (I did then run a little over a mile more) and I had to take almost an entire week off due to a cold. But I still think I will be ready to give it a good shot a week from Saturday.

I have a couple of goals. First, I'd like to top my previous best time and finish in less than 2 hours 30 minutes. Second, I'd really like to finish in less than 2:15. Third, I'd like to walk for less than 10 minutes (I'd prefer to not walk at all, but I'm not going to beat myself up if I do have to walk some).

For my last long training run this Saturday, I'm going to try one more time to run 10 miles. I don't want to try anything longer because I will have to do the actual race a week later.

7 Miles

I did a 7 mile run this morning - more than half the total distance of the actual half marathon. It was a great day for a run:  low 60's, light breeze, no rain. I completed the run in 1 hour, 6 minutes, 37 seconds, an average pace of 9:27 per mile. I'm not sure I could keep up that pace for an entire half marathon, but I felt like I still had some energy left in the tank when I reached the 7 mile mark, so we'll see. Everything has been going fine with the training, though my short runs during the week have been pretty hit-or-miss with my work schedule. The real good thing is that I have not had any injuries even as I have increased my distance up to 7 miles. Let's hope it stays that way as I keep increasing my distance!

Five Miles

I was able to run my longest distance this year today. I went 5 miles in about 48 minutes. It was sort of humid, but no where close to wear it was when I did my 4.5 mile run last Saturday morning (then, it was 84 degrees and felt like 91 by about 8:30 when I finished). Even though I went a half mile further today than last week, I felt much better at the end.

I am on track to build up to the half marathon by the day of the race, which is all I can hope for. I have actually been running about 30 seconds per mile faster than my target pace in previous years. The last time I ran the half marathon, I hoped to run at about a 10 minutes per mile pace. So far this year, I have been running at around a 9:30 pace, and I haven't really been pushing myself (I have felt like I was just going at a comfortable pace). 

I think I am going to shoot for a 9:45 pace for the race this year, at least as a goal. That would have me finishing at just under 2 hours and 8 minutes, which would be over 20 minutes faster than my previous races. With that goal, I think I will still finish better than my previous times even if I end up having to walk a little. For now, that is my goal. If I start doing significantly better on my long runs, or significantly worse (or if I get injured again), I may revisit it. Wish me luck!

Back on the Half Marathon Training Plan

After some leg pain issues, I have finally built back up to running a distance on my half marathon training plan. I should be on pace to build up to 13.1 miles by the date of the Air Force Half Marathon.

I did a nice 3.5 miles run today at about a 9:15 min/mile pace. It was a great day for a run and I felt fine.

2012 Air Force Half Marathon

I decided to sign up for the 2012 Air Force Half Marathon. I had been running again and was able to build up to 4 miles on Wednesday, so I decided I would sign up for the race. It will be held September 15th, so I've got almost 6 months to get ready. I went out running this morning and did 4.5 miles (in 44:19) - I was planning to do 4 miles, but shortly before I got to 4 miles, I decided I would go a little farther. I felt pretty good.



Here is a photo of me on today's run:

President Obama Owes Us An Apology!

Great post from Fr. Z:

Pres. Obama owes you and me an apology!

Mr. President, you owe me and millions of American Catholics an apology.

You apologized to Islamic extremists and other Muslims abroad and in the United States for something done against the Islamic faith by mistake.

What you are doing to the consciences of Catholics and indeed all American, contrary to the 1st Amendment, you persist in doing on purpose.

As President you have offended me. You have offended millions of Catholic and all American citizens who enjoy religious liberty under the 1st Amendment and who, as human beings, do not deserve to be so demeaned.

Read the rest here. For someone that sure likes to apologize to everyone who is an enemy (or at least not a friend) of the United States (of course not for anything HE has done, but for actions of the previous administration and everyone in our country who doesn't agree with him), he has a hard time admitting he is wrong and apologizing to the faithful Americans he has wronged . . . .

Also check out Now, Apologize for Forcing Us to Violate Our Religion. Here's a brief excerpt:

In order for the Koran incident to be as serious as what you have done to Catholics, you would have to force Muslims to pay for the burning of Korans. You would never do so. It is unthinkable. It should also be unthinkable for you to force Catholics to violate our consciences.